SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 17
SECTION A
JANUARY 27, 2017
$1.00
Chamber
honors
volunteers
with
lengthy
resumes
Sowing
HOPE
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The Keizer Chamber of
Commerce First Citizen
Banquet Saturday, Jan. 21,
proved to be a night of
unexpected surprises.
In the end, four longtime
Keizer volunteers received
recognition for efforts that
span into every corner of the
community.
The First Citizen Award
went to Jim Trett, a former
spokesperson and public
education offi cer for the Keizer
Fire District and continuing
volunteer with Keizer youth;
Bob Shackelford, a real
estate broker with Berkshire
Hathaway
HomeServices,
was named Merchant of the
Year; Larry Smith, a longtime
coach and mentor in Keizer
sports received the Service to
Education Award; and Dave
Walery was honored with the
President's Award by Scott
White, the outgoing president
of the Keizer Chamber board
of directors.
Trett
was
introduced
by Mark Caillier, the 2015
recipient of the award.
“When I received the
How
homelessness
effects
taxpayers
PAGE A2
FBLA
at MHS
PAGE A3
Please see CHAMBER, Page A8
Trett honored as First Citizen
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
In introducing Jim Trett as
the 2016 Keizer First Citizen,
Mark Caillier, the previous
recipient of the award, spoke
on what volunteering means.
“Volunteers instill hope
in others, which develops
pathways to success and the
ability to sustain activity to
achieve goals,” Caillier said.
“Our 2016 First Citizen
honoree has sown the seeds of
hopes.”
That
might
seem
hyperbolic, but ask the man
in his 30s who told Trett that
he was likely the reason he
hadn't ended up in prison, or
the other one who came back
to town recently and called up
Trett to meet for coffee and
said, “Every time I needed
somebody, you were there
for me.” That's not hyperbole.
That's the brass tacks outcome
of helping someone fi nd their
way back to hope.
Trett said calling what he
felt “surprise” at the honor of
being named First Citizen was
an understatement.
“I looked at the (other
former First Citizens) that
were up there and knowing
A silver linings playbook
Crisis teams
visit Keizer
schools 3
times since
Jan. 1
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
In 17 years on the Salem-
Keizer School District crisis
team, Pat Curran, a counselor
at Whiteaker Middle School,
said he typically responds to
one or two student or teacher
deaths in the district per
school year.
This isn't a normal year.
In Keizer alone, three
students have died since
McNary
freshman
Isaac
Garcia was hit by a train on
Dec. 30.
“There's been a lot of
tragedy,” said Curran, who
along with responding to
two incidents at schools in
South Salem was one of four
members of the crisis team at
McNary on Jan. 3, four days
after Garcia's death. “This has
been a tough year compared
to past.”
Coordinated by Darcie
Jones, program associate for
counseling for the school
district, the crisis team is made
up of 30 individuals, mostly
school counselors.
Please see CRISIS, Page A7
WAYS PARENTS CAN HELP
GRIEVING CHILDREN
1. Recognize your own feelings and loss issues.
2. Give accurate information about the death,
if you have it. Knowing the facts can dispel worry.
It's OK to say "I don't know" if that's the case.
3. Be aware of your child's personal issues.
(i.e., recent losses, worry about a vulnerable family
member, being friends or disliking the person
that died). They may be impacted even if they did
not know the person.
4. Support your child's stages of grieving.
They may express sadness, disbelief, anger,
silliness, fear, defi ance, "crankiness", excessive
noise or activity, or suff er from nightmares or
insomnia. These are all normal responses to loss
and need to be validated.
5. Encourage them to talk about their feelings.
Then listen!
6. Share your own feelings.
It's okay to share tears and hugs.
7. Emphasize that they could not have prevented
what happened.
8. REGARDING SUICIDE: Emphasize that suicide
is a mistake — a permanent solution to temporary
problems, and that other people would have
helped ________________ if he/she had been able
to ask for help.
what they did for the
community – and a lot of the
time it wasn't the fun stuff
that I was doing – and to
be included and thought of
in that way is tremendously
humbling,” Trett said.
In light of his history of
volunteerism, it actually isn't
all that surprising either.
Trett found his calling
early in life. As a youth, he
was frequently sidelined by
health concerns and it led him
to watching more than the
average amount of television.
He became a fan of Jerry
Lewis and through Lewis
learned about the diffi culties
of children who battle
muscular dystrophy. One day,
at age 12, while recovering
from an eye injury, he was
Please see TRETT, Page A7
08.2 1. 2017
eclipse
watch
11:25 PT
Eclipse plans off
to rocky start
The
Keizer
Festival
Advisory Board (KFAB)
ramped
up
discussions
regarding the Keizer Eclipse!
Totally. event at its meeting
Monday, Jan. 23.
The board barely had
a quorum but managed
to dole out some tasks to
those in attendance. Board
members are taking an active
role in helping plan the event
that is being sponsored by
the Keizer Parks Foundation
with the goal of all proceeds
being donated to Keizer
parks.
On Aug. 21, a total solar
eclipse will pass overhead
blotting out the sun for a
little less than two minutes.
Current plans call for a
weekend full of activities at
Keizer Rapids Park with tent
and RV camping available at
the park.
Beyond that many of the
details have yet to be hashed
out.
KFAB member Sherrie
Gottfried is heading up
the effort, but was unable
to attend the meeting
Monday. In her absence, City
Councilor Marlene Parsons
stepped up to take control of
the discussion.
One of the primary tasks
is fi nding sponsors. Parsons
suggested that $10,000 could
cover the costs of public
safety and portable toilets,
but it is not yet known what
sponsors would get in return.
“We need to fi gure out
what sponsors get out of it
besides banners,” Parsons
said.
From
there
the
conversation turned to
creating a list of possible
events and activities leading
up to the eclipse.
The Keizer Public Art
Commission has expressed
interest in having a chalk
festival associated with the
event. Clint Holland, the
promoter behind the free
summer concert series at the
park, is planning a series of
concerts for the weekend.
KFAB board members left
Please see ECLIPSE, Page A2
First Citizen
banquet pics
PAGE A8
Middle
school
wrestling
PAGE A10